1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
491 
" FIXING " FERTILE EGGS. 
1IOW POULTRYMEN “queer” them. 
We hear some curious things about the 
way egg fanciers treat their eggs before 
shipping them to the regular market. Of 
course, if a man has a surplus of eggs, 
which are worth $1.50 or $2 a sitting, he does 
not like to ship them to the regular market, 
and get 20 cents a dozen and have his custo¬ 
mers sneak around and buy them at that 
figure. Can you tell us, in a general way, 
what precautions poultrymen take in order 
to fix such eggs, so that they will not 
hatch? 
There are several methods, though I 
have never had occasion to practice any. 
I mostly use all good eggs for hatching, 
that I do not sell for hatching; some 
run a very fine needle through the shell; 
this, I think the most practical and sure 
way. Other methods are holding one 
end in boiling water for an instant, oil¬ 
ing tne egg all over, etc. 
,7. 75. STEVENSON. 
1 know but three methods by which to 
“fix” eggs so they will not hatch. I 
have heard of people dipping them in 
boiling water for a few seconds; a prick 
through the shell into the air-cell will 
do the business. The best way is to 
keep the males away from the females; 
this plan should be followed nine 
months of the year anyway. 
B. HOLMES. 
I have heard of fanciers who had sur¬ 
plus eggs, using various methods to 
spoil them for hatching. One is to prick 
them with a pin, but it spoils them 
equally for market, as they will not 
keep. Another method is to dip them 
for a second in water at a temperature 
of 200 degrees F. We never have taken 
any precautions to prevent our eggs 
from hatching. Whenever we have a 
surplus, we are willing that others 
should have the benefit of them, so long 
;is we can get no extra benefit ourselves. 
JAMES RANKIN. 
I have often heard of fixing eggs so 
they will not hatch, but have not the 
least idea of whether it is done or not. 
Of the hundreds of thousands of 
eggs that I have handled in the past 12 
or 15 years, 1 have never treated or fixed 
a single egg in any way, to prevent its 
hatching. In case I have a surplus of 
eggs for hatching from fancy poultry, 
orders are always filled from the fresh 
eggs, and the rest are mixed with any 
and all kinds of eggs, and shipped to 
market, with the chances of the person 
buying them getting purebred chicks 
from a large number of eggs; hut he 
would most likely have to let them grow 
up before he could tell what the kind 
was. n. a. MOUNT. 
THE OLD JERSEY BLUE POULTRY. 
WHERE THEY CAME FROM—WHERE 
THEY ARE. 
Jersey Blues, as the name indicates, 
originated in New Jersey near the old 
city of Burlington, over 50 years ago, 
and are undoubtedly the oldest Ameri¬ 
can breed of fowls in existence. They 
were the result of crossing an old red 
fowl (something similar to the R. I. 
Reds of to-day) with a common black 
fowl that was then quite plentiful 
around here. When they first made 
their appearance to the public, the male 
bird had blue body feathers, with red 
neck and wings, and yellow legs; in that 
style they were bred for many years. 
They soon became very popular with the 
market poultrymen on account of their 
size and beautiful yellow skin. 
About the time of their advent the 
capon craze started in this locality, and 
they soon forged their way to the front 
for that purpose, and, from that i.me 
until the present, no one engaged in that 
business thinks his flock complete with¬ 
out some Jersey Blue blood in it. This 
county is the banner county of these 
United States for capon production, to 
supply the New York City market, and 
the fame that Burlington County capons 
have gained in the city markets is prin¬ 
cipally due to the fact that the blood of 
the Jersey Blue fowl is used in their 
make-up. 
Several years ago, that pioneer fancier 
and poultry judge, the late John B. 
Deihl, got some Jersey Blues, and cross¬ 
ed them with the Black Javas; from 
that crossing he got the slate-colored 
leg on them, and in that style, he had 
them put in the Standard. But the 
brassy neck and wing feathers would al¬ 
ways show more or less after the male 
birds began to get some age, so much so 
that the Standard made an exception to 
them in cocks. That, probably, is one 
reason they never became popular with 
fanciers, and another is that no one ever 
tried to boom them like some of the 
other new-fangled breeds. 
There has been a tendency of late 
among the capon breeders to put a pea 
comb on them, as some think that is 
more desirable, but to my mind, it 
doesn't make any difference about the 
kind of comb, if the. cockerels are cut 
clean when caponized. Until last Fall, 
I thought there was such a thing as a 
best general-purpose fowl; but superin¬ 
tending the poultry department at the 
Inter-State Fair at Trenton, and hearing 
each exhibitor claiming that his particu¬ 
lar breed was the Pest utility fowl, soon 
cured me of that disease. Those wise 
men who flocked all by themselves on 
Fishers Island to revise the Standard, 
saw fit, in their great wisdom, to take 
out the Jersey Blues, together with some 
other utility breeds, and to sneak in 
their places some nondescripts such as 
Frizzles and Anconas, which most any 
old thing can make by the acre, by a 
little crossing. t. b. a. 
Burlington, N. J. 
Vaccinating for Hog Cholera. —We 
have frequently told our readers how, in 
the West, hogs are often inoculated to 
prevent cholera. The principle is prac¬ 
tically the same as that employed in vac¬ 
cination for small-pox in the human. 
1 he Kansas Farmer thus describes the 
operation as done at the Kansas Agri¬ 
cultural College: — 
The treatment was very simple. Two 
young men held the pig down on his side. 
He, of course, objected to this, and raised 
his voice in protest against it. But a 
strong hand invited him to shut his mouth, 
which invitation he reluctantly accepted. 
His ear was drawn gently forward, and 
the point of a hypodermic syringe was in¬ 
serted in the loose skin at the base of the 
ear. Not a pig objected to the Insertion of 
the instrument, his mind being fully occu¬ 
pied with the effort to squeal and to get up. 
Not one was seen to flinch on account of 
the needle point. The proper quantity of 
the culture was injected; the instrument 
was withdrawn; the finger pressed for a 
moment over the puncture, and piggy was 
allowed to get up and go his way. This he 
did without a second invitation, and ex¬ 
pressed unmistakably his satisfaction with 
this final act of the proceedings. 
The only apparatus used consisted of a 
little nickel-plated syringe—about as large 
as a lead pencil that has been half used 
up—a couple of small glass vessels—com¬ 
mon tumblers would answer if provided 
with glass or porcelain covers—say sauce 
or butter dishes. One of these vessels 
should contain carbolic acid in which to dip 
the syringe each time it is used, so as to 
avoid giving to any pig any disease germs 
which may have been In the system or on 
the ear of one previously operated upon. 
The other glass vessel should contain the 
cholera culture. A portion of this is taken 
into the syringe, and, as before stated, in¬ 
jected into the pig’s ear. The cost is but 
slight. The labor is quickly performed. 
The entire 90 pigs were treated in rather 
less than an hour. No skill is required. 
Anybody who can spread bread and butter 
can do it. _ 
Restaurant Ice Cream.— In answer to F. 
P„ p. 417, I have found that a little gela¬ 
tin added to cream helps to stiffen it. 
While supplying cream to a restaurant 
keeper one season, I observed how he 
made it up. For a 20-quart freezer, he would 
buy 12 quarts of light cream. To this he 
would add about 3 quarts of condensed milk, 
containing little or no sugar, enough flavor¬ 
ing to suit, and sweetened with syrup, made 
of granulated sugar and boiling water. He 
also added a little pure gelatin dissolved 
in boiling water. No eggs were used, neither 
was the cream even cooked. His cream 
was, 1 think, the finest I ever found in any 
restaurant, in texture, flavor, grain and 
stiffness. edwin c. powell. 
Gt. Neck, N. Y. 
SCRAPS. 
We have had a number of letters lately 
from dairymen, who tell of cows and 
heifers that leak their milk through a hole 
in the side of the teat. About the only way 
to remedy this trouble is to heal or scar 
the hole over, by cutting off the skin 
around it. In healing a scab forms, and if 
the wound has been well done, when the 
scab drops off, the hole will be found 
scarred together, and entirely closed. 
The Humane Alliance says that Colorado 
is the first State in the Union to pass a 
really good and almost perfect law relating 
to docked horses. The law requires every 
docked horse to be registered, and it is a 
misdemeanor to dock a horse’s tall or to 
bring a docked horse into the State. Dock¬ 
ing is carried on in all other States, as the 
claim is always made that the docked horse 
was brought in from some other State. 
Let our other States fall in line and adopt 
the entire Colorado State act. 
We receive a number of letters from 
dairymen asking where “freezine” can be 
obtained. They want to put it into their 
milk before shipping it to the city. Prof. 
Mitchell, of Wisconsin, testified before the 
committee which is investigating food 
adulterations, that this “freezine” is pure 
formaldehyde. This name would be enough 
to frighten milk into an unhealthful con¬ 
dition, but the Professor goes on to say 
that this chemical acts disastrously upon 
the tissues of the stomach, and he “can 
only surmise the results when milk diluted 
with it is used constantly by a family.” 
In the old blood-and-thunder romances of 
our youth, we used to read of the dark 
villain who poisoned whole families slowly 
and horribly, by adding some terrible thing 
to their food and drink. We do not think 
the honest dairyman would like to fill the 
same role, yet that is about what he is do¬ 
ing when he continues to use such horrible 
stuff as “freezine” and “preservaline.” 
Don’t Believe It. 
If an agent for a compet¬ 
ing separator condemns 
the Sharpies, don’t you 
believe it. He is not tell¬ 
ing you for your good but 
his own. It’a the way of 
the world. He is afraid 
you wi’l try a Sharpies 
Farm Separator, and 
then he knows he will 
lose his sale Just disap 
point him by trying a 
Sharpies. Free trial 
Send for Catalogue No. 25. 
The Sharpies Co , P. M. SHARPLE 9 , 
Canal A Washington St9 , West Chester, Pa. 
CHICAGO U. 8 A- 
Branches : 
Toledo, O. Omaha, Neb. 
Dubuque, la. San Francisco, Cal. 
Top Price Butter. 
The kind that a fancy private 
trade demands, is colored with 
Thatcher’’8 Orange Butter Color — 
the color that does not contain 
any poison. Send for a sample. 
THATCHER MFC. 00.. Potsdam, H.Y. 
Howto Build, Operate, Repair 
Valuaoie and Interesting Points 
on Seed and Kee<i. 
American Silo-Seed Co.,Buffalo.N Y 
ninUO of Plank save Timber and Cash. Be-t. 
DMnllO cheapest, str ngest, most desirable. Over 
2,000 built In last 16 years. Hook for stamp. 
JOHN L. SHAWVKR A BROS., Bellefontaine O 
a 
Electricity vs.“Gas” in 
CREAM SEPARATORS 
Protective patents prevent the nse of 
the improved “Alpha” disc or divided 
milk-strata system in any other than 
the De Laval separators. Other fairly 
well made centrifugal separators are as 
gas to candle and save $3.- to $5.- per 
cow per year compared with setting 
methods. The De Laval machines are 
as electricity to gas compared with other 
separators and save $3.- to $5.- per cow 
per year over such other machines, and 
$5.- to $10.- over gravity processes. 
A new 1890 De Laval catalogue , to be had 
for the asking, tells the whole story. 
The De Laval Separator Co. 
Western Offices: 
Randolph & Canal Sts. 
CHICAGO. 
General Offices: 
74 cortlandt street, 
NEW YORK. 
Branch Offices: 
1102 Arch Street, 
PHILADELPHIA. 
The U. S. Triple Current Separator 
is 
Just as Recommended. 
Columbia Falls, Me., April 24, ,8qg. 
I am perfectly satisfied with the Improved U. S. 
Separator. It has proven to be just as recommended. 
Am thoroughly convinced that I am getting more 
cream from the same number of cows, hence can 
make more butter. GEO. E. GRANT. 
The Best Separator on the Market. 
West Haven, Vt., April 2q, i8qq. 
I have used a No. 5 Improved U. S. Separator 
two years and I have found it to run easy and do 
good work. After two years’use less than one-half 
the weight of the handle will start the bowl. I con¬ 
sider the U. S. the best separator on the market, and 
cheerfully recommend it to any one wanting a first- 
ciass separator. O. O. HITCHCOCK. 
Write for illustrated catalogues with full 
|particulars and hundreds of testimonials like 
the above. 
VERMONT FARM MACHINE CO., Bellows Falls, Vt. 
